Never Shall We Die
by Little Film Buff
Summary: Lord Cutler Beckett may be the head of the East India Company but he has a daughter who loathes him. Charlotte Beckett is nothing like her sadistic father but one day after discovering that her father was involved in the disappearance of her childhood friend Jack Sparrow, she seeks the pirate out before it is too late. *Set before Curse of the Black Pearl!*
1. Aye

Aye: "Yes, an affirmation or a confirmation."

 _"The King and his men stole the Queen from her bed,  
and bound her in her bones.  
The sea be ours, and by the powers, where we will, we'll roam."_

Charlotte Beckett stood on the quarterdeck, facing the ocean as she sang Hoist the Colours to herself. HMS _Challenger_ was the only ship that was on the horizon as it was in the Caribbean Sea and Charlotte liked the smell of the sea along with watching the dolphins leap out of the water when she got the chance. She felt at home when she stood on the deck with the sea wind blowing in the direction of her face. Her blond hair was plaited as the loose hairs floated in the fresh air.

The crew of the _Challenger_ worked around the clock to keep the ship running as usual on her voyage to Port Royal from England. Lord Cutler Beckett was the captain of the grand ship that was in the King's fleet but he was also father to Charlotte. The young girl was the spitting image of her father but she was truly innocent to the dealings of her father which Cutler maintained to conceal from her as she grew up. However, Charlotte continued to sing the song that she had heard at many ports where the _Challenger_ had to be provisioned.

" _Yo ho, all hands, hoist the colours high.  
Heave ho, thieves and beggars; never shall we die."_

" _Now, some have died and some are alive and some sail on the sea.  
With the keys to the cage and the devil to pay, we lay to the fiddler's gree-"_

Charlotte's singing got abruptly cut off as she felt a strong hand that covered over her mouth with a strong grip upon it. Her heartbeat rose high and her blue eyes went wide but she then heard a soft voice.

"Missy, you should not sing it since you don't know t' meaning of it." Came said the voice of the owner of the hand that covered Charlotte's hand. Charlotte instantly recognised the voice, it was Jack. The young girl relaxed in the crew member's grip as she knew who had grabbed her by the mouth. Jack Sparrow was her only friend on the _Challenger_ but to the girl, he was her brother.

Jack let go of his hand and had Charlotte turn to face him before he was going to tell her off for singing a forbidden song that was known to man. Charlotte wanted to know why Hoist the Colours was a forbidden song and Jack was the only crew member who had known of the song but chose not to discuss it unless he was compelled to do so.

"Mister Jack, why can't I sing it?" Charlotte asked in a soft tone to Jack, he was the only crew member that Charlotte had liked out of all of the crew that worked for her father Lord Cutler Beckett.

"You can't." Jack was apprehensive to what Charlotte was asking of him, he knew that the young girl was oblivious to the meaning of Hoist the Colours but he never understood where the girl had gotten the song from.

"Why?" Charlotte demanded. Jack ignored her for a mere moment until she became infuriatingly demanding to the young tanned crew member. Jack had liked the young girl since he had been put on the crew of Cutler Beckett, Charlotte was an image of pure innocence but she was a eunuch to Jack, she was just oblivious to the piracy that her father had a hand to attempt to end it. Jack disliked her father but the tanned young man had to crew the _Challenger_ or otherwise, he would have been hanged for his involvement in the rum runner trade. However, Charlotte was a young girl of twelve years old and it pained Jack to tell her about the damned song that got into her head sooner or later.

"Fine! Promise on me heart that you will not spill this t' your father?" Jack's voice became terse in a whisper, hoping that Beckett or any of the other crew members were not listening on what Jack was about to tell the daughter of the head of the East India Company.

"I promise not to tell Father." Charlotte was overeager to know what the song actually meant but she was nervous about what her friend was going to tell her about the song and its origins.

"Good." Jack chirped with a charming smile but he got down to serious business that he was about to teach the young lady about not singing Hoist the Colours since she did not know the meaning behind the infamous song.

"Alright luv, Hoist t' Colours is a pirate song and it should only be sung if a pirate got 'imself into trouble wiv' what he got his mangy self into. 'Tis a dangerous song, Miss Beckett." Jack's voice went hoarse, Charlotte had paled and Jack saw that. He was terrifying the young girl of Lord Beckett about the song. Good, the girl should know better not to sing the damned song when a sensible lady like Charlotte should be minding their own businesses, Jack thought to himself about Charlotte. As he finished telling Charlotte about not to sing the song, a thought came into his head.

"Your Father does not certainly like a pirate but when he come across, he strings 'em up high for t' world to see." Jack said in a clipped tone, he wanted to keep the blessed girl innocent as long as she could go but he knew that the time had come to tell her about her father and his activities on the seas. Jack knew that Cutler Beckett will call treason on his name if he had told his daughter about what her father did to the men of the sea but the girl needed to know about it.

"What do you mean by Father stringing up a pirate high?" The girl was confused, Jack saw it and he only had to laugh at her genuine wonder. Bloody Beckett made his daughter to become a eunuch, Jack thought as he chuckled softly. Then he went back to telling what he meant by stringing a pirate up high, it would terrify the girl but she was only asking.

"He hangs them by the neck 'til dead." Jack sounded grave in his voice as he told the young girl in front of him about what the meaning meant. His answer shocked the girl into silence but not for long, the girl looked like she had a think about it before she would go back to asking Jack about pirates and the song.

But she didn't.

Instead, as she stood at the railing, she saw a man hanging onto a raft and screamed out for Jack to come and see. After Charlotte alerted him that there was a man in the water, Jack then alerted the whole ship's company and the captain by shouting out; "Man overboard!"

Men shouted on top of each other as they worked to bring the man overboard from the cold water of the Caribbean Sea. Charlotte stood in the background as she watched the crew scramble all over the ship while they brought the man overboard. Jack was nowhere to be seen by Charlotte but she knew that he was off somewhere doing something on board the ship.

Once the man was on board the man-o'-war ship, he slipped into unconsciousness and Charlotte quietly came over to the man who was still on the piece of wood that he'd been lying on. There was something about the unconscious man that sparked interest in the young girl, the man clutched a large and tattered hat in his hands as he laid unconscious.

The man looked like he was well-dressed but his clothes were tattered. He had auburn long hair that looked like it was limp from the water and it partly covered his face, Charlotte saw that he had a beard but her gaze found itself upon the very visible scar that trailed from his cheek down to his upper lip. Being only twelve years old, the man had again something about him that piqued her interest in him and she wanted to talk to him.

Feeling brave, Charlotte proceeded to get close to the man before she spoke.

"Are you a pirate?"

Suddenly, the man's eyes shot open as he heard the petite voice that belonged to Charlotte. He turned his head towards the source that had called out his name. He saw a young girl that stood in front of him in a dress, he smiled as he answered her innocent question.

"Aye, I am."


	2. Avast

Avast means a command to stop or desist. Derived from the Italian word 'Basta' meaning stop.

Eight Years Later.

The face of the man that the crew of _HMS Challenger_ who had rescued, jolted Charlotte awake from her peaceful slumber. Her room was dark, the curtains had been drawn which made the room pitch dark except for a candle that stood on the dressing table next to Charlotte's bed.

Charlotte was breathing heavily, the dream about the day that Jack Sparrow had told her about the meaning of the song Hoist the Colours had an effect on her. She also dreamed about how she had helped rescue the man who then told her that he was a pirate.

Piracy had fascinated her but Charlotte knew that a sensible lady like herself shouldn't be curious about piracy. She resigned herself to her fate that her father Cutler Beckett was going to marry her off to the son of a wealthy merchant. However, Charlotte always wondered about what happened to the crew member that was a brother to her after he had mysteriously disappeared. Jack Sparrow was never far from the young lady's mind as well as the pirate that she had rescued on the day that Jack told her about Hoist the Colours.

A knock on the bedroom door shook Charlotte out of her reverie before she heard the smooth voice of her father.

"Woman, are you up and decent?" came the pompous voice of Cutler Beckett from behind the door.

Charlotte quickly got up and grabbed her robe before answering to her father's question. The young lady did not appreciate her father barging on top of her when she was waking up but never complained about it.

"Yes, father!"

Then, Cutler and two maids came into the room and one of the maids abruptly opened the curtain, causing Charlotte to squint when the sunlight spilled into the room. She hated this time of the day, she just wanted to be left in peace and wake up as she pleases.

"My sweetheart, today is a big day." Cutler said proudly but a bit too proudly, it was true that he liked to show off his beautiful daughter to potential suitors at court. Charlotte knew she had the Beckett genes but she did not want to be sold off soon, she just wanted to live her life before she settled down. Today was a possibility that Cutler had found a suitor for his daughter.

"Why is today important, father?" Charlotte feigned to not have an idea about what her father was talking about.

"I would like you to meet Nigel Penwallow. He is the son of my good friend Lord Penwallow." Cutler smiled gently at his daughter, he had loved his daughter but due to his status, he had to marry her off to a reputable man. However, Charlotte knew who Lord Penwallow was, he had been the superior man that worked above her own father but it did not stop her from loathing the stern-looking man. On the other hand, Nigel Penwallow was no better than his own father. The young man had a reputation for being a ladies' man and liked to hike up women's skirts while maintaining his presence at the court in Port Royal along with his father Lord Penwallow. Nigel's activities did leave a foul taste in Charlotte Beckett's mouth as she thought of him, the thought of being betrothed to Nigel had horrified her. She could never understand why her father seemed to like the leech who mingled in the court and he had liked to hike up the skirts of unsuspecting ladies.

Charlotte fought back an eye roll, she did not want to marry at the age of twenty years old. Instead, she wanted to find Jack Sparrow and spend her life on the seas. When Charlotte was just shy of turning fourteen years old, Jack Sparrow mysteriously disappeared from the crew. She tried to ask her father but she was met with reasons like "Jack went to England." or "Jack married a lady and went off to Carolinas." The young girl never believed her father since she knew that he was capable of such destruction like killing off men of the sea after she witnessed a hanging of a pirate. However, the blonde-haired girl had suspicions that Cutler had something to do with Jack's disappearance.

"Alright Father, I will meet him." Charlotte said in a caustic manner that she made it obvious to her father. Her father detected it in her voice, he began to wag his finger at her with a tut-tut in his voice.

"As your loving father, I am warning you to be nice to Mr Nigel Penwallow once you meet him for lunch at my office. You will like him." Cutler said in a pompous tone which was all too familiar for young Charlotte.

"Fine. I will be nice to him (!)" Charlotte again said in a caustic tone which Cutler ignored before he walked away to leave the maids tend to his daughter. The maids hurriedly went around Charlotte and ushered her into the wash room.

The maids undressed Charlotte before they helped her wash herself. Charlotte hated this time of the day, she preferred to do it by herself but her always overbearing father would of course tell the maids that Charlotte needed help with her washing.

The washing went normally without a hitch until one of the maids had slapped a wet cloth across Charlotte's bare bottom. She yelped in surprise and anger before she turned around and kicked the maids out of the wash room in anger before she finished washing herself up.

Once Charlotte had calmed down, she let the maids back in after she'd apologised to them for lashing out at them. They went to dressing her up with the latest fashion that had come in from London by ship. The corset was one of those items Charlotte had heard about the contraptions but never realised that Cutler had already ordered her one. Cutler just simply spoiled his daughter with the delights of the female fashion trends that came out of London.

The corset came onto Charlotte and the maid was tightening it. Strangulated gasps were coming out of Charlotte as the maid yanked a lace tighter, Charlotte was now struggling to breathe in the damned contraption. She was going to have a talk to her father about the damned contraptions once he'd see what it did to his daughter.

"Oh my, you are most dashing in that beautiful dress!" Cutler lit up as he saw Charlotte going down the stairs in the dress that had just come in from London the previous day, the young lady was obviously struggling to breathe in the fucking dress.

Charlotte gave her father a painful smile, she felt the oxygen levels in her brain were being depleted by the second as she wore the corset. Stars were beginning to appear in Charlotte's vision as she forcefully drew in air into her lungs. Charlotte was going to pass out by the second in the dress.

"Thank you, Father." She croaked out painfully, Cutler was oblivious to the fact that he was currently suffocating his daughter by making her wear the fucking corset.

Cutler's right-hand man was standing nearby, Charlotte hated Mercer with a fiery passion in her. The man terrified her after the incident of her talking about Jack Sparrow and pirates and he'd take out his dagger in front of her face. Mercer had told her in a raspy tone that'd terrify the daylights out of Lord Beckett's only child, "Have you ever heard the crack of a pirate's neck as he drops?"

Those words had ingrained themselves into the mind of Charlotte Beckett ever since, she would attempt to take no heed to them but Ian Mercer would pop up every now and then. Charlotte continuously prayed to God that Ian Mercer did not go near her friend Jack when he mysteriously disappeared.

"Child, get into the carriage. We are going to the court." Cutler said as he grabbed his tricorn hat and cane from the poor servant who looked like he wanted to get out of the Beckett household and do something better.

Charlotte felt sorry for the poor servants who had to work for her Father and herself, she understood that they had to work in order to make ends meet for their own families. Her father wasn't exactly helping in the grand scheme of things in the Beckett household as he would treat the workers poorly. Charlotte wanted to help the workers but she was often told by her father that they were dirt.

Cutler Beckett ushered his daughter into the carriage that would take them to the middle of Port Royal where the court was always held at Fort Charles, Charlotte had a distaste for the court. It was just a place where pompous aristocrats like Cutler Beckett mingled and dragged other people's names through the literal mud with their well-chosen words.

The horse carriage journey took a few seconds and Charlotte found herself inside of the heavily-fortified fort where well-dressed people mingled in the area that overlooked the cliffs. Once Cutler's name was called out by other aristocrats, Charlotte went up to the terrace that the ocean was on the horizon, it was her favourite place to be when she had to be at court with her father.

"My my, you must be Mr Beckett's daughter." Said the lecherous voice of the one and only Nigel Penwallow, the son of Lord Penwallow. Charlotte could swear her insides had shrivelled up and disappeared when she heard Nigel's voice. She fought hard not to turn her nose up at the lecherous voice of the leech who her father was intending to marry her off.

"Yes, I am Charlotte Beckett." Charlotte said in a grated voice which her distaste for Nigel was very present. Nigel leered at her, it made her like a wench in a pirate bar in Tortuga. She also felt cheap.

"I know that, Father tells me that you're interested in being my wife and the bearer to my children." Nigel purred. Charlotte wanted nothing than to retch as she was told that Nigel wanted her pregnant with the spawn of Nigel Penwallow. The rat-like man had made Charlotte taste bile at the back of her throat as Nigel had spoken to her.

"Y-yes." She told Nigel who still had the lecherous smile on his godforsaken face, she wanted to fucking throttle the leech and throw him to the cliffs where the damned rocks were.

"That is good to hear, Charlotte. Matter of factly, it is wonderful to hear that your father has given his blessing for me to marry you." Nigel explained in a leering tone, his remark was it for Charlotte. He had moved dangerously close to the young woman which Charlotte felt violated by his presence and wanted to run as far as she could away from him, So, she picked up her skirt to flitter away from Nigel until a childhood friend bumped into her.

"Miss Beckett!" James Norrington was stunned at how he was bumped into by Charlotte Beckett who he'd hadn't seen since school days in England. Wonderful, Charlotte wanted nothing than be approached by another man after Nigel Penwallow was being sexually suggestive to her a moment ago. Men had made Charlotte feel repulsed everytime they had suggested to do something towards her and Jack Sparrow was an exception as he was like a brother to the blonde.

"Hello!" Charlotte squeaked out in an unladylike manner with an uneasy smile on her face. Being the kind and soft gentleman he was, James Norrington began to get concerned about the welfare of his old school friend that he'd treated her like a sister that he'd never had.

"Charlotte, would you mind telling me why you look so uncomfortable when I said hello to you?" James said in a soft and caring tone which made Charlotte relax. The young navy officer was genuinely concerned why Charlotte was acting strange when he had approached her so he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and whispered, "Did Nigel do something to you?"

Charlotte looked panicked for a second as she looked around before she responded to James's question about Nigel. "Look, can we go somewhere else?" Charlotte leaned in closer to James' ear to whisper in case if the leech Penwallow happened to be nearby to them.

"Of cours-" James proceeded to answer but the posh voice of Penwallow cut him off, Penwallow was furious when he saw his future bride cosying up with Lieutenant Norrington.

"Get away from my wife!" Penwallow shouted in a disgraceful manner which Charlotte wanted again to throttle the human-sized leech. James became furious as well, he marched up to Penwallow's face to attempt to set him straight.

"Listen Mr Penwallow, Miss Beckett is not your 'wife' nor your object so respect the lady please." James said furious at how Nigel was treating poor Charlotte but James remained composed and dignified as he faced the leech. However, Penwallow was not paying attention as he walked away before swinging his arm around to punch the navy office square in the face which Charlotte went to the rescue.

However, she was too late. Penwallow's next swing at James caused Charlotte to lose her balance and fell backwards. Charlotte screamed as she fell at a rapid speed down into the water and the rocks with a loud 'splash'.

It took Penwallow and James a moment to realise that their physical altercation caused Charlotte to fall into the water near to them. James proceeded to take his coat off but navy officers ran to his aid, Penwallow scurried away, not wanting to have some responsibility for the supposed disappearance of his father's friend's daughter at his hands.

As Charlotte came into contact with the water, her dress was rapidly causing her to sink to the bottom of the sea. She was being sent into a dark abyss that met her as her eyes closed and the water went inside of her body.

Charlotte Beckett was snuffed out until now. She remained at the bottom of the water when another person entered the deep water area, he swam down to her but realised that her dress had dragged her down so he took out his knife and ripped the dress away from her body before bringing Charlotte back up to the surface.

A rush of air hit Charlotte like a wave. She started gasping for air but the bloody corset was stopping her from doing so which the person saw that Charlotte was struggling to breath so he plonked her out of the water onto the deck.

That was when Charlotte opened her eyes and saw her rescuer.


	3. Belay

Belay means an order to stop.

When Charlotte had finally opened her eyes to see her rescuer who had rescued her from a watery grave after she'd fell backwards into the water, she could not believe who it was.

"Jack! You're back!" Charlotte shrieked joyfully at the return of her only friend. She proceeded to grab him and envelop him into a bone-crushing hug, Charlotte was overjoyed and relieved at the fact that Jack was still alive and kicking.

"Aye." Jack drawled and wanted Charlotte to stop hugging him since it began to get awkward between the pair of them. The young but seasoned pirate had never gotten the concept of hugging other people and that had made him uncomfortable when he had to do it especially to a lady. He also knew that ladies like Charlotte shouldn't be hanging around scoundrels and pirates who could do terrible things towards them. Jack Sparrow had morals and was never afraid to show them if he had to.

The dark-skinned man with the long dreadlocks that she befriended when she was a girl, had rescued her. He'd grown into a very handsome man whose dark eyes were covered with a tarry substance that just made his eyes look darker and he had grown a goatee that had trinkets amongst it. Charlotte blushed at the mere sight of Jack Sparrow, he was not what he used to be when Charlotte was just a girl herself.

"Now, what were you doing at t' bottom of the ocean, luv?" Jack drawled with a mixture of smoky and drunken substance in his voice as he looked at the pale-skinned girl that shivered furiously after being plucked out of the water.

Charlotte ignored his question but proceeded to ask him what he was doing in Port Royal. She wanted to know why Jack was doing in Port Royal in all of places where Cutler Beckett had control.

"Now, what are you doing here?" Charlotte grew serious with the way her voice went as she spoke to Jack, it was unnatural for Jack Sparrow to disappear and instantly show up eight years later.

"Ah about that, I'm just on what we call… business!" Jack looked nervous but gave Charlotte a flinty smile that showed off his gold tooth. However, Charlotte still hasn't bought Jack's explanation to why in tarnation was Jack doing in Port Royal when her father is roaming the Caribbean and hunting down pirates as he pleased.

"What do you define as 'business?" Charlotte had her eyes turn into slits as she looked at Jack sceptically.

"Luv.." Jack did not want to fight with Charlotte but his choice of a word did not help his cause. It only made Charlotte more patient to get a proper and legitimate answer out of Jack.

"Don't 'luv' me! I have waited eight long years for you to show up, it is a good thing that I did not go mad with worry over you being dead at the hands of my father!" Charlotte shouted at Jack.

"I'm here to get my ship back! Now, are you happy?" Jack snapped, he waved his hands in the air in annoyance. Charlotte, on the other hand, was stunned at his revelation. How?

"What..?" Charlotte's voice was barely audible but Jack managed to hear her. The poor lass had waited eight forsaken years for him to come back and it wasn't the way to come back, was it?

"Yeah, I know…" Jack said forlornly but he wanted to tell the tale later on when he wasn't in the public eye where Beckett and his men could be nearby. Before Jack could open his mouth, he heard the unmistakeable voice that belonged to the father of his friend and enemy.

"Sparrow!" Beckett said in a jolly good mood, Jack could not detect whether Beckett was happy to see him or was he being sarcastic. Charlotte was stunned. Again.

"Christ." Charlotte swore to herself even it was not ladylike to do so but her father had just ruined a reunion with her best friend. She remained wet and cold when Cutler pranced down the wooden deck over to her and Jack. Cutler had a sneer on his face as he scanned Jack who was still in the same spot as Charlotte. The young woman wanted to roll her eyes and take Jack away but she could not do it since Jack's life could be threatened. Cutler feigned concern and fussed over his daughter's wellbeing when Charlotte knew that he was only doing it to get back at Jack.

"What are you doing here and what is your intentions with my daughter, Jack?" Cutler bared his teeth at Jack who was looking nervous but remained calm despite the circumstances around his arrival in Port Royal. However, Jack remained silent and looked around the place which only made Cutler furious and impatient since Cutler had important matters to attend to and Jack wasn't going to waste his time further.

"Very well, you have an afternoon appointment with the gallows. Sparrow." Cutler said before he signalled two redcoats to take Jack with them. Charlotte could not believe what her father had just said so she ran in front of Beckett as she was dripping wet from the near-death plunge from the cliff.

"He saved me, Father!" She yelled, Cutler and his men stopped moving as they heard the daughter of Beckett. Jack remained quiet but looked like he'd seen Davy Jones himself.

"He saved you? How, miss?" Cutler was incredulous at what his daughter was saying while Jack looked around the place looking like he was bored of the family drama between Charlotte and Beckett.

"I was at court and I had to break up an altercation between Nigel Penwallow and James Norrington but the cockroach Nigel pushed me over the cliff. I was sure that I was going to drown and that's when Jack came." Charlotte looked at Beckett who raised his eyebrow at Jack in a surprised manner but then he chuckled acidly. Jack gave him a smile before sarcastically telling Beckett, "You're welcome."

"You let a pirate save you. Silly girl, tut tut. Us Becketts do not associate with the scourge of the sea." Cutler reminded his daughter on the values of the Beckett bloodline but Charlotte sighed before she turned around to look at Jack who looked like he was devising a plan to escape.

"Father. Jack Sparrow is an honourable man who saved my life. So, please spare him." Charlotte argued through her teeth, Cutler Beckett sometimes made his daughter feel like that she was less of a Beckett.

"No, silly girl. He is a pirate." Cutler looked like he was done arguing with his daughter but he knew that Charlotte was right on the basis of Jack Sparrow. He then gave out another signal to the two redcoats that had Jack with them to take him to the dungeons and suddenly, Jack smacked the two men in their faces before pushing them down onto the deck. Jack looked at Beckett with a mischievous smile on his tanned face and said, "Today was the day that Jack Sparrow came back to get back what belongs to him."

Cutler bared his teeth in anger, Jack was getting away from him and he ordered his men to go after Jack. More redcoats came after Jack who grabbed onto a rope for a pulley system that was in the harbour before he looked down at Charlotte who had a grin on her face.

"Meet me after dark!" Jack shouted down to Charlotte who quickly nodded and began to run away from her father and the redcoats. Cutler shouted a fire order for the redcoats to shoot at Jack as he swung on the rope before he landed on the roof of a port official's watch house. Then, Jack disappeared once again.

Jack was getting ahead of Cutler but Cutler would not go down with a fight with Jack Sparrow. East India Trading Company was going to make Jack pay for what he'd done to the company since his face popped up in the Caribbean Sea.

Once Charlotte made sure she had gotten as far from her father and the redcoats, she found herself in the gritty part of Port Royal. It was pitch black outside which ladies like Charlotte Beckett were supposed to be in bed safe and sound but the threat did not faze the young woman at all. She kept on walking until she found the tavern which was the common haunt of Jack Sparrow and entered it. It was rowdy with men being loud and drunk, several leers went Charlotte's way but she ignored them until she found Jack in the corner, he was looking at a compass.

"Jack?" Charlotte called out, she looked uneasy in the tavern but she continued to ignore the leers that were still coming her way.

"Oh, hullo luv." Jack looked up to Charlotte as he heard her voice and gave Charlotte a flinty smile, acknowledging her presence in the tavern. Charlotte quickly came and sat down with him in the private corner, she leaned in to ensure that Beckett had no spies or even worse, Mercer in the tavern.

"Jack, tell me what my father did to you?" The young woman pierced her gaze through Jack's chocolate brown eyes, it was scaring the pirate but he knew that the girl wanted the real answer.

"Let's just say that I had a few differences with his crew so I committed treason and 'e got his men to go after me." Jack said quietly but continued to tell Charlotte. "So I ran. I ended up crewin' the Wicked Wench and we had run into the El Matador Del Mar, just four months after I signed on. 'Er crew got killed during the battle and somehow, I was made t' captain of her and was given the compass." Jack brought out the compass to show Charlotte the item that made him the captain of the Wicked Wench. Charlotte had a shocked look on her face but she wanted to know what Jack meant by saying Matador Del Mar.

"Who is the El Matador Del Mar?" Charlotte asked Jack but he suddenly looked fearful and gave her an uneasy smile. Charlotte nodded silently.

"That is another tale for another time, luv." Jack said reassuringly before he went back telling Charlotte on the events in the past eight years.

"Five years ago, I had the Wench in my command and we were roaming the seas until Beckett and 'is men showed up. He took me ship after I got me crew to raid one of Beckett's ship. The man was not t' pleased when he found out that I got off with 'is supplies." Jack said sadly, Charlotte placed her hand over his to sympathise with him over the loss of his ship. It broke her heart to hear that her father took Jack's pride and joy away from Jack since she could remember him telling her that he wanted to own his own ship.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." Charlotte said to Jack but he waved it off like it didn't bother him. Instead, he smiled at Charlotte.

"I'm here to get 'er back. That's all it matters t' me." Jack quietly said as he fiddled with the compass in his hand. Charlotte smiled at him despite the story that Jack told her.


	4. Starboard

_"I'm here to get 'er back. That's all it matters t' me." Jack quietly said as he fiddled with the compass in his hand. Charlotte smiled at him despite the story that Jack told her_.

The sun was rising and it marked a new day in Port Royal, Charlotte was just leaving the tavern where Jack hid. She wasn't sure how to feel about her father asking her where she was. Knowing her father, she couldn't just tell him that she was with Jack could she? Charlotte thought up all the possibilities of keep Jack safe away from Cutler's poisonous sword and ego but she knew that he was going to be killed if Jack had gone into contact with Cutler Beckett.

Charlotte walked quietly upwards the lane that led her to the back of the Beckett household where there was a secret entrance for her to get in without being spotted. She held her breath in the case if Cutler or even worse that cockroach Mercer spots her coming back from wherever the hell she came from in the ridiculous hours of the day. Well, Cutler had a daughter and it was only natural for him to know where Charlotte was but it would make things worse since his daughter was known to correspond with a pirate. A pirate that Cutler wanted long dead.

As Charlotte had just gotten inside of the house, the room that she entered was dark but she froze in her tracks when she heard her father's voice that came from the dark. Cutler flicked the oil lamp on and shone it in his face, he was furious and his voice hid nothing from the fact that Charlotte had the audacity to run off with Jack Sparrow.

Charlotte was supposed to be afraid of her father but being with Jack Sparrow, the young lady found herself standing up to her father who was putting the fear of God into the stricken hearts of the men of the sea. She glared at Cutler with an icy look in her eyes, she wasn't going to break her ground or let Cutler to get the best of her.

"I suppose you were with Jack Sparrow, were you?" Cutler's voice was dark but it had a snarl tone to it. Charlotte couldn't help but feel terrified for the repercussions that her father was going to put on Jack. It wasn't Jack's fault that Charlotte wanted to be involved in his life as a pirate. Anyway, Charlotte had enough of it.

"Yes Father, I was with Jack." Charlotte snapped, her blue eyes went dark with anger and her face was scowling in fury as well. Her father's facial complexion changed from cool and collected to furious and scowling after he'd heard his daughter openly admit that she was with Jack Sparrow. Jack the pirate that always had thwarted him every damned time that Cutler had gotten close to getting.

"How dare you." Beckett snarled but it did not flinch Charlotte. However, the young lady thought up a rebuttal to the argument that she was having with her father over Jack.

"How dare you take Jack's ship away from him!" Charlotte barked at Beckett who shot up from the armchair as he heard his daughter answer him back. He could not believe that his sweet-tempered daughter had the gall to stand up to him and tell to his face that she was furious at him for taking a pirate's ship away from him. How dare she could do that to Beckett.

"Listen to me young woman, you will not see Jack Sparrow again." Beckett said in a hissed tone with his finger pointing at his daughter. Charlotte's mouth dropped when Beckett told her that she was not to see Jack again after the stunt that she'd pulled when Jack came back to get his ship back.

"No-" Charlotte tried to argue but Beckett stopped her.

"No arguments, Charlotte." Beckett put his hand up to stop Charlotte from fighting him about the argument that he'd made about stopping her from seeing Jack. "That is final. You are not to leave the house unless I say so. Mercer will keep watch. Do you understand?" The short-heighted man hissed before he stormed out of the darkened room and left Charlotte behind.

Charlotte let out a huff of frustration at how her father was stopping her from seeing Jack when he knew that Jack was her friend. Things were turning into a literal pig sty since Beckett had Mercer watching his daughter even the man liked to terrify the living daylights out of Charlotte. Well, fuck.

After his 'private' encounter with Charlotte, Jack made his way to Tortuga in fear of that Cutler would find out about him and Charlotte. It was by now that Cutler would have found out but not that Jack cared about that. However, Charlotte wasn't far from his thoughts as the girl managed to sneak back into his life.

Outside of the Weeping Daughter, Jack grabbed a bucket that happened to be full of water and carried it down to the local pig sty where there was a man sleeping amongst the village's pigs.

*SLOSH*

Jack had swung the bucket and it successfully emptied the water all over the sleeping man who woke up along with the pigs as the water went on him. He chuckled when he saw the man stirring from his drunken stupor and the man had become annoyed at being woken up.

"Damn you t' the blasted hells o' Satan!" The man did not appreciate being woken up by having water splashed upon him. He looked up to Jack who had an amused smirk on his face as he watched the man come out of a stupor.

"Good mornin' Gibbs, I see the night was good t' you." Jack looked down at the man with contempt in his facial features.

Gibb[s face dropped as he recognised the person who splashed the water upon him. "Jack? Is that ye Jacky boy?" He asked for confirmation until it dawned on him. Jack gave him a flinty smile where his new gold tooth was in full view which Gibbs saw that. The boy captain had finally turned into a man.

"Jack!" Gibbs beamed in delight and began to get up but Jack splashed more water on him.

"Why did ye do that fer?!" The grey-haired pirate shouted in annoyance, he did not appreciate being splashed for the second time in a row.

"That..was for the smell." Jack explained. Gibbs sighed in defeat, Jack was always right when Gibbs was not.

The two men tottered up the laneway up to a secluded tavern where such debauchery was known to man on the island of Tortuga. Once they got their rum, Jack and Gibbs wasted no time and started talking about their lives since Beckett took the Wicked Wench. Joshamee Gibbs was Jack's loyal First Mate and friend since Jack recruited him to help with the new ship that he'd acquired when he overcame the El Matador Del Mar in the Devil's Triangle. It was true to say that the middle-aged man was pleased to see his friend and Captain after the experience with the East India Trading Company that resulted in the Wicked Wench going into the hands of Beckett.

"Jack, what are ye doing here in Tortuga?" Gibbs was curious why would Jack show up in Tortuga when Cutler Beckett was scouring the whole island in his search for him. Jack let out a dry chuckle as he looked at his cup of rum.

"I'm here to get her back." Jack said as he took a sip of his favourite drink with determination. Gibbs listened on but his eyes widened when Jack had told the seasoned sailor of his reason to why was he doing in Tortuga.

"You're getting t' Wench back?" Gibb's eyes looked like they were bulging but he was surprised.

"Aye I am." Jack said softly as he took a sip of his favourite drink.

"I heard tales that Beckett has t' Wench hidden in a private cove somewhere in t' Caribbean. They say that he's plannin' get her fitted into a man o' war." Gibbs said gravely, he knew that the Wicked Wench was Jack's pride and joy but he was furious at how Beckett took the black ship away from Jack.

"What?" Jack's eyebrows furrowed as he wanted to know why the tales were being spread across the damned scoundrels and wenches in the Caribbean.

"Aye, I know. Every man an' his dog hoped that you'd come t' get 'er back." Gibbs beamed with perky eyes that made Jack feel at unease but Gibbs was his friend, he couldn't just get up and leave.

"That's good to hear." Jack said with a grimace, Tortuga wasn't kind to him the last time he was on the island. "I have a leverage." Jack added with a hopeful tone in his voice which Gibbs leaned in more to listen to what Jack had to say about the leverage.

"Who?" Gibbs whispered as he sipped his rum. Jack sighed before he opened his mouth.

"Beckett's daughter." Jack had a flinty look on his face with a smile on his face which meant that things were going his way.

Jack's revelation caused Gibbs to spit out his rum. That was good rum being wasted but Gibbs was shocked at why Jack would use the daughter of his sworn enemy to get his ship back. That he did not understand at all.

"Jack, no! Bringin' a girl on the Wench is bad luck!" Gibbs pleaded with Jack to see reason to why he was bringing in Charlotte Beckett into his grand plan to get the Wicked Wench back from Cutler Beckett, the infamous pirate-killer of the Caribbean. Gibbs knew that the plan was becoming dangerous once Charlotte became involved and that meant Cutler would be hot on his trail to finally get Jack.

Jack let out a dramatic sigh and put on his whiny tone that Gibbs did not like at all. The dark-skinned pirate only used the tone to get what he wanted from Gibbs. "My most treasured First Mate, Charlotte will help us get the Wench back."

"I don't like this." Gibbs mumbled to himself but it was loud enough for Jack to hear which Jack let out a feigned chuckle as he looked at the grey-haired man.

"Take it or leave it." Jack said in a clipped tone after he got tired of Gibbs complaining to himself about how it is bad luck to bring a girl on a pirate ship. Jack couldn't give a hoot whether the myth was true or not, he had to just get his ship back from the murderer that happened to be Charlotte's father.

"Fine! Yer crew is waitin' at the port fer you." Gibbs said enthusiastically after he got over his minor strop of bringing a girl onboard a ship but he was pleased that Jack was finally getting the Wicked Wench back at last before that bastard Beckett did something to it.

"Good, we're getting t' work now." Jack said before he shot up from the table and made his way to the port where his men were waiting for him. This was becoming a good game for Beckett to play since the true owner of the Wicked Wench had come back to reclaim her.


	5. Booty

Charlotte was deeply unhappy at how her father denied her from seeing her childhood friend Jack. She had gone past the point where she felt any daughterly love towards her father after she discovered that her father was actively tracking Jack down to kill him and take his ship. Then, he had taken Jack's ship and that was the last straw.

She was afraid for Jack. The pirate was one of the smartest people that she'd met and she'd hate it if her father snuffed the pirate out so quickly that the Caribbean would be devoid of him and the Wicked Wench. The pirate was like a brother to her and she loved him like a brother but Cutler Beckett seemed so determined to rob his daughter of a true friend.

As Charlotte thought about Jack, she imagined that he'd be in Tortuga with his crew and finding a ship to go on the pursuit to get the Wicked Wench back from Beckett. She had to laugh at how Jack used his smarts to commandeer an unfortunate trade ship that would happen to be sitting in the harbour while their masters had indulged in such debauchery that shocked Charlotte and her female propriety.

The girl did not want to be an object of the court especially Nigel Penwallow that her father seemed so sure to marry her off to the leech that was only interested in buggering her until she had no use to him. The thought left a bitter taste in Charlotte's mouth as she thought of the future if Beckett killed Jack. And she was determined to make sure that Jack was well far away from her murdering father. That meant defying him and Mercer and she had begun it.

The house was eerily quiet which Charlotte peeked out into the hallway to only find Mercer fast asleep on a chair with a pistol in his hand. Charlotte sniggered quietly to herself that Mercer had gone to sleep. As the house went quiet let alone the snores of Mercer, a memory came flooding back into Charlotte's memory.

 _Charlotte was sitting on a barrel as she watched the bustling activity of the port in Port Royal. She watched merchantmen and sailors offloading goods from their ships while there were men who were looking at ships that sat in the harbour as these ships looked like they were too big to be moored at the port. There were also sailors rowing their boats that looked like they were coming from the large ships that sat in the harbour._

 _Then, Charlotte spotted a person that looked rather familiar to the young lady. The person was a man with raven black hair and he looked rather handsome but he had piercing blue eyes. That's it, it was Charles Beckett, her uncle and her father's brother._

 _She watched Charles tie the rowboat to a pole before he climbed himself onto the boardwalk. Charlotte stood up and cleared her throat before opening her mouth to call out her uncle's name as he had begun to walk on the boardwalk towards the bustling town of Port Royal._

 _"Uncle Charles?" Charlotte called out Charle's name as loud as she could go with her seemingly petite and female voice. She hated how her voice made her sound like she depended on a male to help her around which was not the case at all._

 _The man's head turned around to see where his name was called out and he spotted Charlotte. He immediately smiled which Charlotte returned the smile. Charles Beckett was a handsome man with striking facial features that included a pair of piercing blue eyes. He was more handsomer than his brother Cutler which Charlotte mentally agreed on._

 _"Charlotte? Is that you? Oh my, you have grown!" Charles beamed as Charlotte ran up to him before giving him a greeting hug. There was several uniformed officials looking at Charles which he detected them with his eyes._

 _Sensing that the men were his brother's men, Charles grabbed Charlotte and took her to a restaurant._

 _"I apologise about that, your father wouldn't be too happy if he saw me with you." Charles looked uneasy as he looked at the teenager in front of him. Charlotte was confused to why Charles was being nervous around her._

 _"Charles, are you afraid of Father?" Charlotte looked at her Uncle in interest, she wanted to know why her father would not be happy if she was seen with his brother._

 _"Charlotte.. You shouldn't be asking." Charles quickly looked over his shoulder to ensure that none of Cutler's men had followed him and Charlotte into the restaurant where they were at to get away from the public eye._

 _"Are you?" Charlotte was persistent in her voice._

 _"Well, yes." Charles said in a hushed tone which meant that he didn't want to tell his niece but it was going to happen anyway. Charlotte was dumbfounded, her loved uncle was hated by her own father. Charles was more like a decent father than Cutler was to Charlotte._

 _"Why?" Charlotte asked in a quiet tone, she was having a hard time processing this information into her young brain of hers._

 _"Your father and I disagreed on a large amount of things especially I didn't like how he handled Jack Sparrow." Charles looked at Charlotte in a sorrowful manner, he'd sworn his brother that he was not to tell his niece of what happened to Jack Sparrow. The memory of Jack Sparrow's disappearance was still raw in the young girl's mind._

 _However, Charlotte was sick of the silent treatment that she was getting from Charles so she snapped. The young woman wanted to know what her father had done to her best friend._

 _"What did he did to Jack? Tell me!" Charlotte demanded with fury tinged in her voice, her patience was wearing thin like a crisp layer._

 _"No, Charlotte, you are too young to comprehend it. If I'm still alive by the time you're a woman, I will tell you." Charles said as he gritted his teeth while trying to get his niece under control in the damned restaurant where there could be Cutler's men around the two of them. Charlotte was now determined to find Jack Sparrow._

 _"Fine but I'm going to find Jack!" Charlotte said as she folded her arms while looking out the restaurant window._

 _"Charlotte, it's too dangerous!" Charles hissed with anger, he loved the girl like a daughter but Charlotte was headstrong._

 _"I don't care!" Charlotte shouted quietly._

 _"How can you be sure of that?" Cutler was sceptical, he knew that women didn't always mean what they say but Charlotte was a whole other story._

 _"I'll find him!"_

 _"How, Charlotte? How? Your father will not be pleased and girls like you shouldn't be going after pirates. It's dangerous." Charles argued but he was met with a scoff that came from Charlotte._

 _"Oh really? What happened to Grandfather when he found out that you joined Calico Jack's crew?" Charlotte retorted with a glare at her uncle._

 _"Don't." Charles seethed, that girl knew that he was a damned pirate but couldn't blame her because his brother used to preach hate about pirates in the Caribbean Sea and how they were a menace to society. However, Charles could remember the day that Cutler told him that their father Charles Snr had passed from a broken heart over Charles sullying the Beckett name to become a pirate._

 _"Oh yeah, I shouldn't be knowing about you being a 'merchantman' but you're actually a pirate. You know Jack." Charlotte stood her ground, she wanted answers where Jack was and the person who knew where Jack was, was sitting in front of her. Charlotte wasn't about to back down._

 _Charles looked like he was at a loss on what to tell his niece. He knew that the girl had made a friend in Jack Sparrow. Once Charlotte Beckett wanted something or someone in this instance, she was never going to back down unless she got it._

 _"Fine! But, I know something that may help you find Jack." Charles leaned in closer before he whispered in a quiet tone in case Beckett and his men came sniffing around._

 _"What?.. Tell me." Charlotte's face dropped but she listened intently to what Charles was going to say to her regarding Jack Sparrow._

 _"Promise me, you are not to tell your father of this. Will you?" Charles had to make sure that his niece wasn't going to spill the information to her father or anyone at court._

 _"Your secret is safe." Charlotte muttered, impatient for Charles to tell her the information regarding Jack._

 _"Good. Now just before Cutler cut ties with me, he told me that he had a map that he has left under the desk that has clues to what he did to Jack." Charles revealed at last._

An epiphany came to Charlotte like a lightning bolt, it meant that Cutler Beckett had left vital clues about the whereabouts of Jack's ship in his office. After checking that the coast was clear, Charlotte quietly stepped afoot into her father's office where she was told that she was not to enter it in any circumstance but she could not care less about him.

Charlotte went over to the desk where she knew that Beckett had paperwork strewn all over it, she quickly ruffled through it until she reached under the desk. Charlotte had found the map that Uncle Charles had mentioned, it had the name of Jack's ship written on it. _So this is the clue to where the Wicked Wench is,_ Charlotte thought to herself as she looked at it until she heard footsteps.

She quickly grabbed the parchment and ran to the open door that led into the garden area. The garden meant that Charlotte would run from the mansion with the parchment that held the clue to where the Wicked Wench was. Charlotte Beckett had run from the clutches of her father. For the second time already to Jack.

After sorting out his rage over his daughter, Cutler came back to the house only to find a sleeping Mercer and he forcefully woke him up. Mercer shot awake and looked at Cutler who looked like he was in between anger and remorse. Cutler loved his daughter with all of his being but he could never understand why Charlotte decided to mingle with the likes of Sparrow.

"Where is my daughter?" Cutler hissed through his teeth as he shot daggers at his right-hand man with his cold eyes.

"Uh, she's sleeping." Mercer mumbled but Cutler did not buy it, it seemed sus since Charlotte was known to cause a racket upstairs with her singing all the time while she was upstairs in her room.

"Oh, really? I will check if she is in her room." Cutler acerbically said before he went on his way upstairs to check on Charlotte. Once he entered her room, his normally lucid face turned bright red as he saw that Charlotte was not in her room and that she had run. Again from him to join that brigand of a pirate. He cursed every word that was known to the King himself before he threw every single thing that his daughter had owned about in that room.

Cutler knew that his daughter was sullying the good name of the Beckett family by associating with a pirate but he also knew that Charlotte wasn't the only one in his family to have run off to a pirate. He could remember his older brother had run off to join Calico Jack's crew when he was twenty years old.

Cutler could remember his father Philip being furious that Charles had disappeared but only to find that the boy had run off to Calico Jack and his crew. The poor father was sent to an early grave as he could not cope with the fact that Charles Beckett had turned from a respectable man into a pirate who liked to roam the seas.

However, the thought of Charlotte and Charles being pirates turned Cutler's blood into red hot fury and it made the man to run downstairs to Mercer who had several men with him. Mercer looked at him while having several men standing behind him, the right-hand man was at the ready awaiting his master's orders.

"Prepare the Endeavour, we're sailing at dawn." Cutler spat with spit flying from his thin pursed mouth. His face was red hot with fury, his daughter had just openly defied him to get back at him for what he had done to Jack Sparrow. The pirate was going to _pay_ for corrupting Charlotte.


End file.
